Google Play Games to simplify the sign-in process, drop Google+ requirement

Derek Walter |
Jan. 26, 2016

With a change to some of the service's APIs, you won't be prompted to connect your account every time you launch a new game.

Android gaming should get a lot more seamless if you use Google Play Games. That’s because Google is giving developers new tools to sign you in automatically to your Play Games account whenever you launch a new title.

This way you won’t have to go through the process to approve permissions with each new game you fire up:

You won’t have to go through this every time you sign-in to a new game with your Google account.

The other major change is that those who create a new Google Play Games account will no longer need to use Google+. While this shouldn’t impact your existing service, this is one more place where Google is pulling back its social network.

Further details can be found on the Android Developers Blog, which outlines how developers can take advantage of the new permissions model. It will take some time for the new APIs to be put into place, so you won’t see any major changes just yet.

The impact on you: This is a nice change that will smooth out the process of hopping into a new game. Google Play Games does a good job at spicing up the gaming experience with achievements, recommendations, and (for games that implement it) saving your progress. If this new protocol works as advertised, it will be a welcome adjustment.